June 29, 2026 • 7 mins
Disaster McMaster says unfortunately bureaucracy is a sign of the times when it comes to working smarter.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Lizzy Grant is Asten McMaster farms on the edges of
like look a tip at close per In Station and
joins us once again thanks to a team at Abbi
Rural grg. Good afternoon last time we spoke. You were
over in the US, but pretty much back on Tarra
Fairmouth for everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, I know, good afternoon, Andy, good Art and everybody,
and welcome back to yourself and hope you had a
good holiday away.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, it was a good holiday. It was a warm holiday,
but it's always good to get home. There's no argument there.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, it's certainly not too warm here at the moment.
We've had some since I spoke to Olivia last week.
We haven't missed the frost, but I think they've been
you know, the lakes are starting to freeze over which
they haven't done for the last few years, to be
for it, or a little bit last year on one
of them. But yes, it's been it's been pretty cold,
but beautiful days and the snow. You know that the
(00:54):
snow that was was here has sort of gone. But
there's a bit on the ski fields, I think, but
I think there's a bit more meant to be coming
through this week. But you know, very very hard frosts
and good days.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Ski fields have been looking pretty petchy at the moment.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I imagine, Yeah, they well current it pig. I saw
that the other day. I had a bit on it,
but I can't see it from where we are, so
but I've been certainly struggling a bit.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That's just a tale of a season, I suppose, so
pretty much just stock standing where you are. It's that
cold time of year, you're getting that run of frosts,
but we're not really seeing it in parts of Southland.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, well, I guess there hasn't just been the snow
on the pops and I don't know. I suppose that
there's been a bit on the taxis that normally brings
the frost itself and doesn't and blow you through there.
But I think it's you know, the fact that it's
been so warm for so long, it's just taken a
while for things to cool down on the snow to stay.
And you know, we've only had a couple of falls
off it. They were good ones last week. But yeah,
(01:54):
it's sort of disappearing again now and I think that
it's meant to be higher temperatures near the end. Of
the week. So but it's you know, it's we've had
a fierce here of rain while I was away. Were
spoken about that none sense, But when we were back
that first weekend, so no rain and just a bluebird
of days and the tracks hardened.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Past and just business as usual for wonder, I suppose
Grant it is.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Actually today as we speak, I just watching. We've got
a drilling rig again, so we've been we're drilling for
a bit of rock so that you know, every every
person likes a good explosion or a bit of something
being blown up. And so I've been around here this
morning and the drills, the big the big machine with
a drill on it, drilled down and I've just did
(02:39):
the blast before skimmed off the top soil, and we're
trying to get some good rock out to try and
fix this creek that has taken a taken a life
of its own and sort of trying to go everywhere.
And we've made a few we've put a few blocks
and the sort of gave in, not off gave in baskets,
but blocks it into lock and the first laying came
(03:02):
blew them out. So it's the old thing, you know,
it's very expensive to try and get a lot of
rock from anywhere now, so it's it's instead of, you know,
taking taking the mountain to Muhammad, we've taken Muhammad to
the mountain. So we've got the gear in now and
I'm just looking as we speak, and I sort of
hoping they might be bigger boulders come out, but from
(03:23):
no expert on it. So I think what they do
is they've taken it back a bit, see what happens,
and they might have blast a bit more. So that's
but that's right beside the creek, so the dig is there,
pushing it down towards it needs to go, and just
just wanting a few more big rocks.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
He drilled these holes down and then when we stood
back and watched and it just sort of shocked a bit.
But there was one hole that hadn't probably been tampered enough,
I don't know, but it sort of shot up like
the guys are and that got the old heart going.
But then it just just sort of moved a bit
and and everything settles down and just to try and
break it up and get it out. So yeah, quite interesting.
(04:00):
But I was I we're just saying to you off
here that the Moat Lake Road is. It's in pretty
bad repair of the frost's cut it up at the
public road and the majority of it's it's gravel. But
just just thinking the other day that there's the Moat
Creek comes out out of Moat Lake right and there's
a lot of lot of gravel there, but the council
(04:21):
don't in there wisdom or who's the side that aren't
taking They don't take the gravel out of there for
the road which is just you know, right at the
end of it. So the lorries have been doing about
a two and a half hour around Trump to get
go get gravel to come back and spread it. And
I was just thinking, you know, like it's the the
gravel out of Moat Lake is probably not as good
(04:42):
as the stuff out the Shotover where they've got to
get through town and get it all. And but you know,
if you sort of looked into it, the time it
takes and the gravel that's there, could probably put twice
as much on and be the job probably. And I
got me thinking about when we're in the States and
you know a lot of the roads over there, the
freeways of concrete and the good thing about that was
(05:04):
every so often you'd go along you'd see a big,
a big cement plant and they were just you know,
doing parts of the road there and not having to
do what we do have to carry aggregate for miles
and miles or and nowdays we can't just dig it
out of a hill or a quarry because you're not
allowed to. So, you know, I know they've got the
economy of scale there, but it seemed a pretty good
way of doing it. And then to come back here
(05:26):
and see them, see what's happening to try and get
the gravel on the Moat Lake Road, having comes to
the other side of Queenstown two and a half hours
one way, it's yeah, no, one of the things are expensive. Andy.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
That reminds me of that joke disaster and guy was
painting a road one day and pointing the white lines
and the first age of five k, second day to
four k, third day, three kse so on and so
on till the last day you needed fifty meters of
us goes, what's going on? He goes, Each day I
get further away from the paint.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, yeah, that's easy. I mean, we're not it's probably
not an expert in farming, but doing it well enough.
But you just, I don't know. Sometimes you just think
it's you know, the old days when they had, you know,
a quarry beside the road and you got out and
you got into it, and and I just thought the
American way there was was you know, made it made
(06:17):
it seemed a lot more simple and more pragmatic. And however,
that is the way it goes, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Call it for what it those ground is bureaucratic bullshit.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, it is, unfortunately, and and you know, just I
still can't get over the number of the number of
road cones we have here. And as I said on
here before, you know, in the States, I saw about
two other buggers and yeah, unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
And Sam, there's a guy in the back of a
five ton truck just standing up, no hard hat, he's
got an orange head and he's got an orange flag
in his hand. That pretty much constit. That's pretty much
a road cone over there. People just got on with it.
Same thing.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, common sense, less common all the senses.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Now, absolutely good on your mate. We'll let you carry on.
Catch you next week.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Do that. That's what we've been doing talking here. There's
some good big boulders coming out now, so I'm resting
a bit easier.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Grand Is as McMaster, thanks of course to the team
at Abby Rural. We catch up every Tuesday here on
the muster before we wrap up sharing shermers at a
young Farmer's clubs at his Grand Final week
Lizzy Grant is Asten McMaster farms on the edges of
like look a tip at close per In Station and
joins us once again thanks to a team at Abbi
Rural grg. Good afternoon last time we spoke. You were
over in the US, but pretty much back on Tarra
Fairmouth for everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Yeah, I know, good afternoon, Andy, good Art and everybody,
and welcome back to yourself and hope you had a
good holiday away.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Yeah, it was a good holiday. It was a warm holiday,
but it's always good to get home. There's no argument there.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Yeah, it's certainly not too warm here at the moment.
We've had some since I spoke to Olivia last week.
We haven't missed the frost, but I think they've been
you know, the lakes are starting to freeze over which
they haven't done for the last few years, to be
for it, or a little bit last year on one
of them. But yes, it's been it's been pretty cold,
but beautiful days and the snow. You know that the
(00:54):
snow that was was here has sort of gone. But
there's a bit on the ski fields, I think, but
I think there's a bit more meant to be coming
through this week. But you know, very very hard frosts
and good days.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Ski fields have been looking pretty petchy at the moment.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
I imagine, Yeah, they well current it pig. I saw
that the other day. I had a bit on it,
but I can't see it from where we are, so
but I've been certainly struggling a bit.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That's just a tale of a season, I suppose, so
pretty much just stock standing where you are. It's that
cold time of year, you're getting that run of frosts,
but we're not really seeing it in parts of Southland.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, well, I guess there hasn't just been the snow
on the pops and I don't know. I suppose that
there's been a bit on the taxis that normally brings
the frost itself and doesn't and blow you through there.
But I think it's you know, the fact that it's
been so warm for so long, it's just taken a
while for things to cool down on the snow to stay.
And you know, we've only had a couple of falls
off it. They were good ones last week. But yeah,
(01:54):
it's sort of disappearing again now and I think that
it's meant to be higher temperatures near the end. Of
the week. So but it's you know, it's we've had
a fierce here of rain while I was away. Were
spoken about that none sense, But when we were back
that first weekend, so no rain and just a bluebird
of days and the tracks hardened.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Past and just business as usual for wonder, I suppose
Grant it is.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Well.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Actually today as we speak, I just watching. We've got
a drilling rig again, so we've been we're drilling for
a bit of rock so that you know, every every
person likes a good explosion or a bit of something
being blown up. And so I've been around here this
morning and the drills, the big the big machine with
a drill on it, drilled down and I've just did
(02:39):
the blast before skimmed off the top soil, and we're
trying to get some good rock out to try and
fix this creek that has taken a taken a life
of its own and sort of trying to go everywhere.
And we've made a few we've put a few blocks
and the sort of gave in, not off gave in baskets,
but blocks it into lock and the first laying came
(03:02):
blew them out. So it's the old thing, you know,
it's very expensive to try and get a lot of
rock from anywhere now, so it's it's instead of, you know,
taking taking the mountain to Muhammad, we've taken Muhammad to
the mountain. So we've got the gear in now and
I'm just looking as we speak, and I sort of
hoping they might be bigger boulders come out, but from
(03:23):
no expert on it. So I think what they do
is they've taken it back a bit, see what happens,
and they might have blast a bit more. So that's
but that's right beside the creek, so the dig is there,
pushing it down towards it needs to go, and just
just wanting a few more big rocks.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
He drilled these holes down and then when we stood
back and watched and it just sort of shocked a bit.
But there was one hole that hadn't probably been tampered enough,
I don't know, but it sort of shot up like
the guys are and that got the old heart going.
But then it just just sort of moved a bit
and and everything settles down and just to try and
break it up and get it out. So yeah, quite interesting.
(04:00):
But I was I we're just saying to you off
here that the Moat Lake Road is. It's in pretty
bad repair of the frost's cut it up at the
public road and the majority of it's it's gravel. But
just just thinking the other day that there's the Moat
Creek comes out out of Moat Lake right and there's
a lot of lot of gravel there, but the council
(04:21):
don't in there wisdom or who's the side that aren't
taking They don't take the gravel out of there for
the road which is just you know, right at the
end of it. So the lorries have been doing about
a two and a half hour around Trump to get
go get gravel to come back and spread it. And
I was just thinking, you know, like it's the the
gravel out of Moat Lake is probably not as good
(04:42):
as the stuff out the Shotover where they've got to
get through town and get it all. And but you know,
if you sort of looked into it, the time it
takes and the gravel that's there, could probably put twice
as much on and be the job probably. And I
got me thinking about when we're in the States and
you know a lot of the roads over there, the
freeways of concrete and the good thing about that was
(05:04):
every so often you'd go along you'd see a big,
a big cement plant and they were just you know,
doing parts of the road there and not having to
do what we do have to carry aggregate for miles
and miles or and nowdays we can't just dig it
out of a hill or a quarry because you're not
allowed to. So, you know, I know they've got the
economy of scale there, but it seemed a pretty good
way of doing it. And then to come back here
(05:26):
and see them, see what's happening to try and get
the gravel on the Moat Lake Road, having comes to
the other side of Queenstown two and a half hours
one way, it's yeah, no, one of the things are expensive. Andy.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
That reminds me of that joke disaster and guy was
painting a road one day and pointing the white lines
and the first age of five k, second day to
four k, third day, three kse so on and so
on till the last day you needed fifty meters of
us goes, what's going on? He goes, Each day I
get further away from the paint.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, yeah, that's easy. I mean, we're not it's probably
not an expert in farming, but doing it well enough.
But you just, I don't know. Sometimes you just think
it's you know, the old days when they had, you know,
a quarry beside the road and you got out and
you got into it, and and I just thought the
American way there was was you know, made it made
(06:17):
it seemed a lot more simple and more pragmatic. And however,
that is the way it goes, isn't it?
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Call it for what it those ground is bureaucratic bullshit.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Yeah, it is, unfortunately, and and you know, just I
still can't get over the number of the number of
road cones we have here. And as I said on
here before, you know, in the States, I saw about
two other buggers and yeah, unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
And Sam, there's a guy in the back of a
five ton truck just standing up, no hard hat, he's
got an orange head and he's got an orange flag
in his hand. That pretty much constit. That's pretty much
a road cone over there. People just got on with it.
Same thing.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, common sense, less common all the senses.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Now, absolutely good on your mate. We'll let you carry on.
Catch you next week.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Do that. That's what we've been doing talking here. There's
some good big boulders coming out now, so I'm resting
a bit easier.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
Grand Is as McMaster, thanks of course to the team
at Abby Rural. We catch up every Tuesday here on
the muster before we wrap up sharing shermers at a
young Farmer's clubs at his Grand Final week
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com